1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fastener inserter and more particularly to a pneumatically powered fastener inserter which includes a feed hopper adapted to contain a plurality of fasteners. The feed hopper supplies fasteners to the inserter which inserts individual fasteners into the material or object being secured.
2. Description of the Related Art
T-shaped fasteners normally comprise an elongated shank having a pointed portion at one end thereof and an enlarged head portion at the other end thereof. In most cases, the fastener is provided with a retention means on the shank which resists the fastener being pulled from the material or object being secured. One type of such fastener is commonly referred to as a "Christmas tree" fastener and it includes a plurality of spaced-apart retention members in the form of ribs extending outwardly from the shank thereof. During insertion, the ribs on the shank normally deflect inwardly towards the shank, but the ribs prevent the fastener from being pulled from the material or object once the fastener has been inserted. In many cases, the ribs are swept back to facilitate the insertion thereof.
In the past, it is believed that the most common method of installing the fasteners in the material being secured was to initially manually force the fastener into position and then use some type of pneumatic hammer or the like to drive the fastener into place. The requirement that the fastener be initially manually placed into position is obviously time-consuming and increases the time necessary to insert the fastener.